Quoit



Febfs, 1952 c. M. CUSTER 2,584,260

' QUOIT Filed June 5, 1948 I I I l v I 2? /7 A2 m 19/ INVENTOR. l8 2/ 29 --T CARL M (215m? .1 BY I Patented Feb. 5, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT" QJFF'IICE QUOI'J? Carl M. Custer, Cincinnati, Ohio" Applicatidn lune 5, 1948;;Serial No:..3 1,2fi0.

This invention relates to game devices and more particularly relates to' a quoit-like device for. use in a gameof the, type in which the device may be pitched, thrown, or slid against a post or stake or in other games.

An. object of this invention is to provide a quoit-like device which can be thrown against a post to encompassthe post.

A further object of this. invention is to. provide a device of this type having angularly spaced The above and other objects may be attained by the means described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a quoit-like game device constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the device illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 -is a perspective view of an arm of the device illustrated in Figure 1.

Briefly, the device may-include a central supportingbody portion andla plurality of, outwardly extending arms, all of the arms being in a .single plane. Each'of. the ar s may be bent in substantially an arc of a circle to form a flat device.- having a plurality of substantially horse;- shoe shaped. openings about. the; central body portion. Each. opening may be betweena concave side'of an arm. and aconvexside ofianad- J'acent arm. A free end oreach of the arms may be providedwithaninwardly directedtooth for engaging the, post for holding the device about the post. The arms may be provided with scoring indicia indicating a point value to be associatedwith each arm.

Referring now to the drawing, the device may include a central portion In. The central por--- tion It may be fiat and triangular in shape and may have parallel outer sides I 2. outwardly projecting arms l3, l4, and [6 may be integral with and may extend outwardly from the central portion Ill. The. centralportlon l0 may be gripped byaplayer .for. holding the device while pitching. or throwing it, or one of the arms [3, l4, and It. may .begripped.

Eachofthe.. arms l3, l4, and. 5 may project radially from. the central portion I 0, and the armamay all be of. the same shape. As shown in FigureB, .eaeharm may be of substantially rectangular crossesection and may curve throughout its length; The edges of each arm may becut away or beveled as indicated atv I! to-eliminate-sharp edges, andeacharm may be provided with lengthwisestrengthening ribs or the like if desired.

The tree end-of each-arm may beenlarged as indicated at. I8, and a, portion of the enlarged end [8 may project inwardly to form a tooth IQ for holding the device on a post (not shown) when the device is pitched against the post. In addition the. enlarged end portion I8 may include lips 24- whichoextend upwardly and downwardly from each arm to engage dirt or sand about the post.

As shovvnin Figures 1 and 2, the device may bee symmetrical. soathati it will fiy true when pitched or thrownwith a rotary motion. The top and bottom sides as shown, may be identical; and. the-device may bet-thrown with either side up;. All they arms. may project from the centralportion l0 inasingleplane, and the device may lie'fiat on the ground or'may slide over they ground parallel with the ground when it hits thelground.

Ithe .devicershown isequippedwith three arms, but, willbeeapparent,similar devices may be constructed with. more. than three arms for presenting additional openings which can engage the post.

. Ifdesired,,.eachuof the arms: may be equipped with: scoring indicia 22- to. provide a variety of scoring; values-5 for-"ringers on arms encompassing the posttand the armsmay be of various colors fort ease inidentifying;

When the: device is to be." used, it may be raspediatthe centralfiportionm; or may be held by one of the arms, and the: device: may be pitched. or "thrownrtcward the; postilike a horseshoe f but-with the radiating: arms revolving toward the? post. at which: the device is thrown. When the device hits the post, it may encompass. the post, and the post may fit .between an inner curved or concave side 23 of an arm and an outer curved or convex side 24 of an adjacent arm. As shown' in Figure 2, the concave side 23 of one arm may be continuous with and may merge into the convex side 24 of the adjacent arm. The teeth 19 serve to retain the device about the post, and the lips 2| and the side 12 on the lower side of the device may engage dirt about the post to limit the distance which the device can slide along the ground. As shown, the lips 2| may be symmetrically arranged about the central portion 10. The outer sides 12 of the central portion H] and outer sides of the lips 2| may be in the sarrie planes, and there may be less tendency for the device to roll after hitting the ground than there is with a horseshoe, which is not symmetrical.

Alternately, the device may be slid along a smooth surface, such as a floor, as in shufiieboard, to engage a post. As another alternative, the device may be used in a game similar to deck tennis, and the arms can provide projections for ready catching by players.

Scoring may be in any desired manner. If desired, the indicia 22- may be used and, for example, five points may be scored when the arm l6 encompasses the post, three points may be scored when the arm 14 encompasses the post, and one ,point may be scored when the arm [3 encompasses the post. When employed in a game similar to deck tennis, a penalty may be invoked when a selected arm is caught.

The device may be constructed of any appropriate durable material such a wrought iron, rubber, a plastic material, or the like or combinations of these materials. If desired, the arms may consist of cores of hard material, such as iron, coated with a soft material such as rubber or a plastic material. The arms of the device illustrated have a circular curvature, and each arm may curve approximately 90 degrees between the central portion I9 and the enlarged end portion I8, while the concave side 23 of each arm may curve approximately 180 degrees to form a semi-circular opening for receiving the post. However, arms of difiering curvatures or arms having angular displacement may be substituted for the circularly curved arms shown.

The device may be made from a single 'piece of material cast, forged, machined, molded or otherwise shaped, and the arms I 3, l4, and I6 may be integral with the central portion l and with the enlarged end portions I8. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, each end portion may terminate in a surface 26 which may receive and absorb a blow if the end portion 18 hits the post. A side of the surface 26 adjacent the convex side 24 of the arm may be cut away as at 21 for eliminating sharp corners. Each tooth l9 may have substantial thickness between the surface 26 and an inner curved surface 28 which may merge with the concave side 23 of the arm.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2', corners of the triangular central portion H1 may be cut away at the points to form platforms 29, which do not extend outwardly as far as the sides of the central portion I 0. The scoring indicia 22 may be located on the platforms 29 where the indicia 22 are protected by the outwardly extending sides of the central portion l0.

As shown in Figure 1, the points of the triangular central portion lflare directed along-the arms. Flat sides 3| oi the central portion 4. face outwardly toward the ends 18 of the arms, and the sides 3|, being directed toward the ends 58 and toward the openings, can act to brake the sliding of the device over the ground as it approaches the post. The central portion II! has been shown of triangular shape, but may be of other shapes. If the device is provided with more than three arms, the central portion may have a side for each arm, or the central portion may have other shapes, for example a star shape or a circular shape.

Many other variations in details of construction of the device will be apparent, and the invention is not intended to be limited by the foregoing detailed description and by the drawing except as set out in the appending claims.

What I claim is:

1. A game device for pitching against a post which comprises, a central body portion, a plurality of arms projecting radially from and arranged symmetrically about said central body portion in a single plane, each of said arms being curved to define openings about the periphery of the device, each opening being between a concave side of an arm and convex side of an adjacent arm, the concave side of each arm merging into and forming an extension of the convex side of the adjacent arm, and inwardly projecting teeth at free ends of the arms for engaging the post.

2. A one piece game device for pitching against a post which comprises, a central body portion, three arms projecting radially from saidcentral body portion in a single plane, each of said arms being curved in an arc of a circle to define openings about the periphery of the device, each opening being between a concave side of an arm and a convex side of an adjacent arm, the concave side of each arm merging with the convex side of the adjacent arm, inwardly projecting teeth at free ends of the arms for engaging the post, lips, a pair of lips for each arm, projecting in opposite directions from the free ends of the'arms substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the arms for engaging the ground, and a pair of triangular shaped projections, one on each side of the central body portion for engaging the ground, said arms, teeth and lips being arranged symmetrically about the central body portion, outer surfaces of the projection and lips on each side of said device being coplanar, each side of each triangular shaped projection facing the free end of one of said arms.

CARL M. CUSTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are 01. record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

